Difficult start: No. 5 Red Raiders fall in series finale to OU

Texas Tech starting pitcher John McMillon had no trouble getting Oklahoma hitters out once he settled in.

The problem was his first three outs against the No. 14-ranked Sooners in a Big 12 contest Sunday.

McMillon, a sophomore right-handed hurler, threw 32 pitches before he ended the top half of the first inning with a strikeout but walked off the mound trailing 3-0 to visiting Oklahoma.

The No. 5 Red Raiders offense tried to get going, highlighted by a Grant Little solo home run in the second, but it wasn't enough as Texas Tech dropped a 12-5 decision to the Sooners in the series finale at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.

"Just trust his stuff," Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock said of what McMillon could learn from the first inning. "Trust your fastball. You throw in the mid-90s. If they hit it, they hit it. Let the guys play behind ya. I don't know that he really went out and established the fastball today. But he did give us five after that. And there were some positives after the first. But that's probably the biggest thing: fastball command."

With the loss, the Red Raiders (32-9 overall, 10-5 in the Big 12) earned the series win but had a six-game winning streak snapped.

Oklahoma (27-15, 10-5) averted being swept for the first time in conference play thanks to a strong offensive start in the first inning.

Cade Harris started things off by drawing a five-pitch walk before Steele Walker hit a single and Kyler Murray collected a walk to load the bases with one out.

Brady Lindsley, who went hitless in a Saturday loss, knocked a two-RBI single through the right side of the infield that gave Oklahoma a 2-0 lead. Brylie Ware hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored speedy, dual-sport athlete Kyler Murray and provided a 3-0 advantage heading into the bottom half.

"They really were selective up there and made John throw it over the plate," Little said of the Sooners batters in the first inning. "And he did, they put good swings on them. They found holes, and that's pretty much it."

Texas Tech couldn't get much going as the first three batters were retired in order, but McMillon found his groove after giving up the trio of earned runs.

It appeared the Red Raiders offense did, as well, in the bottom half of the season.

Little, who had two RBIs on Saturday, smacked a lead-off solo home run over the left-center field wall to cut the deficit to 3-1.

After the home run, though, Texas Tech was unable to muster much else — sans a two-out single by Michael Davis — before Cody Farhat grounded out to third base.

The Red Raiders lineup struggled to put together a rally until the eighth inning, pushing across four runs, but could not complete the late-game comeback en route to just their second home loss of the season.

"Really thought that was coming," Tadlock said. "I thought the game was right there for us going into the eighth. I really did."

Notable

Texas Tech starter John McMillon ended his five-inning performance with 97 pitches — setting a new career high for the sophomore hurler. The right-handed pitcher previously threw 95 pitches in a March 3 home start against South Alabama. ... With the Sunday setback, the Red Raiders dropped their second home contest of the season. The only other team to hand Texas Tech a home loss is West Virginia back on March 29.

What's next

Texas Tech is scheduled to play a two-game road midweek series against Arkansas. The Red Raiders are slated to christen the two-game set with a 6:30 p.m. Tuesday contest set to be televised on the SEC Network Plus channel. The final game will have a scheduled 6 p.m. Wednesday first pitch and be televised on the SEC Network.